I'll be exhibiting at MegaCon, February 17-19th in sunny Orlando, FL! Tentatively my booth number is 841, but I haven't got my packet in the mail to confirm that. It's hard work for me to be an exhibitor as a sole proprietor/operator/designer/slave, so I may not be able to catch up here as much as I'd like.

I'll post about more con plans in the near future, and upload as many teasers as I can nab some spare time to do. If there's something you see here that's for Megacon and you can't go, let me know and I can try to set one aside for you. I've been updating a bit quicker at houseofdarkly.tumblr.com, if you're willing to put up with some obsession over BBC Sherlock in the mix

Actually I got invited to a convention in Marseille! Not sure how they found out about me. I'd love to do it but France is a bit far, and I'm very out of practice at French.

In life news, my brother has recently finalized a moved to Germany, and our house is a bit full of his things from his old place in NYC. Bit extra lonely down here in Florida. And WAY too sunny and warm. What's up with that? Can I borrow some winter?

Sorry for not being around... again! NYCC was insane (but great!), and things have just been non-stop since then. @_@; I do a lot of work at 12-2AM now. =_=; So that's when I'll try to be on dA again tonight... ahahah. I also had my 30th birthday argh! D: last week, but I didn't do anything at all for it so... I'm going to pretend that didn't happen, ooookay....?

BUT you can check out some new stuff on my Etsy store, and I have several other things that I still have to add! I have LOTS of ideas that I want to follow through on. There is also a COUPON CODE for Etsy which has just started for last-minute holiday shoppers: FESTIVE2011 for 10% off whatever you buy! Trying to help out as much as I can; remember you can give the code to friends or family to buy FOR you, too

I HAVE started using Tumblr, so you can also follow me there - sometimes I may update faster about new works and I also share other fun and inspiring things.

I'm also planning conventions for 2012 (because the world is NOT going to end ), so I'll let you know as soon as I know where I'm headed.

I swear I do remember a time when things were not completely pear-shaped constantly. Possibly shaped like an apple, or a banana...

News time! I'll be vending at New York Comic Con, October 13-16! With your razor-sharp minds, you have probably sussed out that it's in NYC, but check their site for more info. I'll be in the "Anime Pavilion", so I'm technically a vendor for NYAF as well. That's two! TWO cons for the price of one! *end infomercial voice*

I've already announced that my first exclusive for the con will be Black & White Cookies; I'll share pics when I have some, and update here on any other exclusives.

Let me know if you'll be attending so I can harass you to come say hi I may do something special for dA users, I'll update closer to the con. Special bonus: I need help at my booth and no one's really available, so you'll get to meet... my mom. Hahah.

News time! I'll be vending at New York Comic Con, October 13-16! With your razor-sharp minds, you have probably sussed out that it's in NYC, but check their site for more info. I'll be in the "Anime Pavilion", so I'm technically a vendor for NYAF as well. That's two! TWO cons for the price of one! *end infomercial voice*

I've already announced that my first exclusive for the con will be Black & White Cookies; I'll share pics when I have some, and update here on any other exclusives.

Let me know if you'll be attending so I can harass you to come say hi I may do something special for dA users, I'll update closer to the con. Special bonus: I need help at my booth and no one's really available, so you'll get to meet... my mom. Hahah.

Since I last posted... my dog died, I've moved cross-country (and cross-town), made an emergency trip to NYC, had my computer break, had a foster dog, gone to Comic-con, lost my health insurance, and adopted a puppy. Not actually sure which of those things has had the biggest impact. But things have been, at best, [i]chaotic[/i]. I've alternately not had the heart, the time, or the energy to do much here; sorry about that.

Oh yes, and have had minimal time with a working sewing machine due to a long, idiotic saga which at the moment has left me with TWO Brother sewing machines, neither of which is sewing in tension. At my wit's end over that one. There is only one repair place here, and since they've had the same machine twice and not managed to fix it... I'm suspicious that continuous hard use on heavy fabric messes up the tension discs on "home" machines and that I need an industrial or heavy-duty machine, or at any rate a *better* machine. If you have one, or have done just fine without one, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts.

Event planning...Dragon*Con: I don't have a table/art show space for D*C and probably can't actually come, primarily due to lack of room space. I miss not having to plan con rooming a year in advance.

Maker Faire NYC: I'm applying as long as I have a solution to my sewing woes. No guarantees if I get in, of course, but I do have some neat ideas for "display" stuff about how plush are actually made that I hope I get to share.

New York Comic-Con/NYAF: I'm considering dealer space but am looking for a [/b]booth buddy[/b] who'd be willing to split some costs/responsibilities. This is *dealer* space, not AA (if you do anything but draw, you don't qualify for AA).

And I haven't made plans past that, though I should have. I am trying to get life back under control, though I can't say it's going incredibly well... but I'll leave you with a photo of the new puppy Myka, since you can't go wrong with that.

Hi folks, vanished again due to a last minute (like, a week in advance) decision to get a vendor booth at C2E2 (Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo) this weekend (March 18-20). I'm in booth 858, under House of Darkly. I am NOT in the paper guide but I am in the app and on the website. If nothing else, wander around until you feel lots of plastic eyes on you... anyway, please come by and say hi if you're attending. I may be a bit comatose but am otherwise friendly.

I'd really like to post something about the terrible situation in Japan, but I honestly have only a few minutes to spare and no energy and that's hardly the time to say anything meaningful.

Previously on...The Barrel Magazine...I was recently contacted by one of the editors asking if they could include me in a section about Etsy shops. They're also doing a blog-based giveaway of a coupon code for my Etsy shop! So something fun for you to check out Read the Magazine here (free and online, I'm on page 40) Blog with contest entry here (scroll down, there are other shops doing giveaways too!)

Patterns are hard...Been meaning to do some monsters again, but just hadn't gotten to it! I keep a notebook with lots of doodles in it; it'll be a long time before I get to all of them. Also, patterns can really be a pain sometimes D: I'm trying to do work that's more 3-dimensional, which I honestly am not that good at! Or at least, I don't find it easy. So if you happen to be struggling with patterns and assume it's just you: I'm pretty sure it's not. It's comforting that needle felters make up for lack of patterning by wearing out their wrists and stabbing their fingers (Not really! I love needle felters too )

The Barrel Magazine...I was recently contacted by one of the editors asking if they could include me in a section about Etsy shops. They're also doing a blog-based giveaway of a coupon code for my Etsy shop! So something fun for you to check out Read the Magazine here (free and online, I'm on page 40) Blog with contest entry here (scroll down, there are other shops doing giveaways too!)

Submissions...I've recently sent out submissions: to Stuffed magazine for the first time, and to Plush You! again. Wish me luck, I suppose, and fingers crossed for any of you who've submitted to either

Website....I am really working at trying to build a better business, but I admit that WordPress is still kicking my butt. I just can't get it to do the type of gallery I want. You will be the first to know when I have a new site up, which will include a blog with WIP and how-tos and all that fun stuff.

Postin' up my "Valentine's" stuff. It's inspired by the holiday, more than "for" it; I haven't done anything for it since grade school anyhow Hopefully love is a year-round thing. Also red (the color of blood! lol).

I have a few restocks for Etsy to take care of (probably Panic Bananas first), and a couple plush ideas high on my to-do list. I REALLY want to have a strong "portfolio" when the Etsy Plush Team opens their applications. I keep forgetting their 4 times a year Sadly it has become much harder for "non-established" artists to do group shows, etc... plus if you're in a group, you get to do plush trades, which I've never done.

Have a few ideas for t-shirts I really hope to work on very soon, in between plushing stuff. And I want to buy another lens for my DSLR and a speedlight. Mm speedlight.

I always have more I want to do than I have energy/time/money for ;; If I can kick these daily migraines, that would be a big help @_@;

Yep, I have been doing almost nothing besides making Adventure Time worms to fill Etsy orders. Phil Rynda was kind enough to send the link to the Frederator Blog, and things sort of exploded after that! Actually I found out if you Google Image search for "plush worm" I'm all over the results. lol.

At this point I'm pretty much only putting them in stock if someone convos me and asks why they're NOT in stock (for a preorder!). I also had a bad spell where I couldn't sit up for like a week for no apparent reason (dizzy/tired) so now I'm more behind on everything else *flail*

If anyone here wanted to buy a worm and hasn't seen them in stock, you can leave me a comment here. I'll reply to you with a relist. I've had a least one person who said they were doing a Finn cosplay, so I definitely want those people to have one if nothing else. A WORM FOR EVERY FINN

Trying to nab some time for dA, been keeping up fairly well with deviations but not so much with comments/favs/etc. So don't be surprised if I pop up at you like a ninja. A very late ninja. But that's when you LEAST EXPECT THEM.

It's too late for Christmas but you can put them on your... Valentine's tree (they really have those) or your rearview or whatever. Finn and Jake Adventure Time ornaments:

busybusybusy but I don't seem to get much done. D: What is up with that? Seems like a lot of stuff picked right now to go pear-shaped, and I'm going to have to replace my computer sooner rather than later... it's a ticking time bomb of catastrophic data loss. It's been very unreliable, slow, and crashing a lot Incidentally to nothing, I left "this is my journal" on this theme because it's so to the point. It cracks me up XD Also it is true.

NEW ETSY STUFFS!

TRON LEGACY!I saw the movie on Monday because I'm one of those crazy weird people who gets access to advance screenings through strange and mysterious means (Okay not really, though it was rather hard.) I've said almost nothing about the movie because I think surprises are good and preconceptions aren't. But I just want to say, much like with the original, there is some serious design eye candy going on. It does not look like ANYTHING else you have seen before. So go see it in IMAX 3D if possible, so it's like all that pretty is giving you a (completely non-adult) lap dance and making sweet visual love to your eyeballs.

That would be the print kind, not the pop band. Not that I would know who that is. *shifty eyes*

So I had to tell you that my Pop Tart plushies were included in a news feature! News: Dolls, Plushies &Toys Feature - Food I'm last. Because someone has to be at the bottom to hold everyone else up? Actually who cares about order. Many thanks to MyntKat for selecting my work to feature there! It's lovely to see plush artists getting props.

My hot glue gun smells like burning so I had better go back to work. I'm leaving town on Monday (in theory) and may not have net access, but I will be abusing it terribly and having fun on dA if I do.

And I'm not tired at all and can totally tell the "preview" button from "submit" OTZ

Hope all of those who celebrate Thanksgiving had a good one, and that those who don't recently had something good to eat anyway. This was the first time in a while the whole family had actually been home, even though there are only 4 of us, so that was nice.

I think Cyber Monday is a dumb name, but hey. I decided to take advantage of the new Etsy coupons feature, which means you guys get a sale! This INCLUDES newly added items, Purin and Grape or Strawberry Jelly Crazy Toast plushies.

New Items on Etsy!

For the sake of convenience I am starting the sale NOW and it runs until tomorrow night, 11/29, 11:59PM CST (just before midnight). Here is the coupon code to enter: CYBERTART10 = 20% OFF ALL ITEMS!

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I made special codes for dA and Twitter friends, to say thanks to them. You get an extra 5% off. It's okay if you give the code to your friends or family though! (subtle hint, yes/yes?)

I have a second piece of good news; I have semi-official approval to sell some of the Adventure Time worms! This came from one of the higher-up production staff, whose name I won't mention just in case they happen to get in trouble It will be a small run. I will have one batch up in the next few days, but you're welcome to convo me about one too. I'm happy to do things like alternate colors not in the show, I think they'd look quite nice in shades of blue.

I'll be back to post again with the wormy update, and also to catch back up on comments/followers/all that fun stuff! I've been having a cluster of migraines the past week or so and haven't been able to look at my computer screen for long, sorry! I'm working on a brand-spanky new website and hopefully will have time eventually to make journal skins for here.

Welcome to anyone who's new, and thanks as always for EVERYONE'S support!

I was supposed to go to Nekocon last weekend and my sinus infection thing came back RIGHT before I left. No nastiness, just dizziness, exhaustion and a bad headache. So missed the con for the 2nd year in a row. Whatttt

But this means I come bearing plush bounty, since I had new stock for the con. I also spent some time working on my Etsy shop, and decided to decrease some prices. I am moving as soon as we manage to sell this house (not going well for anyone these days), and it's important to me to try and have pricing be fair for me and for customers.

I've been on a plush break for a little while since, working on remaking my website and also repainting some of my BJD. Which I haven't done for years. So I might come back with a few things that aren't plush soon. Or aren't food hah XD I am sooooo out of the loop on web design stuff. Very out of practice!

Somewhat belated due to IRL chaos (which has mostly consisted of massive fail). Halloween update! I had a lot of ideas for Halloween plush because I'm into that sort of thing year-round, but I only got around to a handful.

BTW, if anyone knows Guillermo del Toro (yes I'm sure), tell him I have a plush for him, hah. (Speaking of fail.) I got the chance to be right next to him at a film festival, but NOT give the plush to him. And if you like his movies but haven't seen The Devil's Backbone, you need to see it as soon as possible. Powerful film.

Spent a lot of time this week on some things that were very disappointing dead ends, for reasons out of my control. So I'm working hard to be productive on things that WILL go somewhere.

One of these days I WILL learn how to keep up with dA properly. Or anything properly Pretty overwhelmed by how behind I am on everything from being sick for so long, and really stressed out by having the house on the market. We keep having to scramble to clean up for someone to come, but no one's shown any real interest (and we got stood up, too!). My dolls are packed up, almost all of my toys are packed up, and my supplies are all shoved under things etc so they're out of the way. x.x; No fun at all.

Sorry for the plush spam All intentions of going back to a steady pace of coming here again.

I DO have a Twitter account so I can carry on Short Attention Span Theater style So if you feel like stalking me a bit, my account is www.twitter.com/house_of_darkl… . I mostly talk about TV, movies, and plush (and TRON LEGACY *flail*).

But I have updated Etsy with a few Halloween things, very limited stock (but if you miss out on something, you can always contact me). Check it out: www.etsy.com/shop/houseofdarkl…

Either in a few days or early next week I'm putting up a few additional, non-Halloween items; I'll post again when I do so.

Yes I fell of a virtual cliff into oblivion again. Things have been quite mad here for the past few months, largely for two reasons.

1) I'm moving to Florida. Or, rather, my parents are, and I don't have an option to not go with them at the moment.

2) I did Artist Alley for the first time at Anime Central. Which I didn't get to plug here or anything. >_> I also never saw any of the alley, since I was by myself and left the table no more than once a day to run to the bathroom. ;;;; But I sold out of a bunch of things, including one I never even got a photo of, and can't now! (A guy begged for my prototype!) It was totally nuts. It was great to talk to so many people who came by, and gave me lots of compliments (aside from a few socially-inappropriate comments), and hopefully I'll get to do it again. I also RAN OUT of business cards, cut up cardstock and drew more (lol!) and ran out of THOSE as fast as I could make them. @_@; Whew! Bit tired still.

Etsy WILL get updated and so will dA, but I can't do it yet because due to moving the carpets have been shampooed and I can't get to ANYTHING. Seriously. You should see the closet in my workroom, it's terrifying. This weekend I'm going to Los Angeles for a few days, as well. Would love to say things will be more under control after that, but then we have to do all kinds of moving-related stuff. =_+;

Etsy has been updated! I kinda got in a car accident and was having pain in my right arm so I didn't get to sew too much X But all my new deviations are up for sale this time Click to check it out

I will be keeping up more with Etsy in the future, which is why I'm putting up a new poll too. Thanks very much for the feedback from those who voted in my first ever poll! There are MONSTERS COMING! It's going to be 50/50 sale now and later since I am confirmed for the ACen Artist Alley. More info when I have it.

Long time no entry, huh? dA was getting *very* difficult to use, it was SO SLOW . . . so I finally decided I had to pay for an account (for three months anyway). I had almost 400 deviations to go through! @_@; So I'm not caught up on anything else here yet.

I am REALLY REALLY SORRY about not getting back to comments/favs/etc. It has really been on my mind, I just haven't been able to get to it. Beware of (yet again) super-late reciprocation. But I don't know what I'd have done without the continuing encouragement.

Now I have to learn how to use the premium features. lol. So I won't do anything cool until I figure out how. o_O; Does everybody make their own journal skins?

I've been feeling down about my work lately. Maybe mostly because I haven't had any energy so it's very hard to work; recovering from this illness can take years. Large possible life changes on the horizon not helping either. But I guess you have to keep working till you come out the other side?

Well, I ALMOST got caught back up on dA! I didn't realize it had been quite so long @_@; Apparently I broke 3,000 views too: maybe it's not a lot for some people, but I think it is! Thanks so much to everyone! <3

It's been out of town-->sick-->out of town--> sick pretty much; gallery opening in DC, San Diego Comic-con, and Dragon*Con. Awesome times though. The gallery opening was my first ever, very exciting. SDCC is almost interminably epic; I have a nice big Flickr gallery up for SDCC if you like that kind of thing. And then I met my most long-standing Creative Hero at D*C: one Terry Gilliam you may have heard of. Kind of blew my mind, especially because he's a really nice dude. When people you admire have any clue you exist it makes you want to work hard on your art, doesn't it? Nothing wrong with being a fan, but I want something beyond that, too. I'm proud of myself for not being a total moron in front of him (I think), maybe slightly less proud of slipping him a business card (he had a tip jar! I gave him like $0.75 too XD;;; )

Alas dA has been running insanely slow and being bizarre so it took me a dreadful amount of time to catch up here. Somehow I have to scrape up the cash for a subscription, I guess, since I don't hear the subscribers complain! It might motivate me more. Well, I'm motivated; but frustrated too, and haven't been working lately, sorry to say . . .

Anyhow at least posting up my Plush You! stuff for now. They get awesome stuff every year and I'm very excited to be a part of it; there will be lots of artists you'll recognize if you like plush, and new ones you'll be excited about too. My work will be showing at the Bluebottle Gallery. BTW, I WILL KNOW if you live near Seattle and don't go D: One day you will wake up to find a plush standing over you and . . . well. You don't want that.

So I knew that recovery from an adrenalectomy took a long time, but man. Are we there yet? @_@ Anime Central didn't amount to much since I had to abandon my roomies both nights I tried and go home (but the time there was good!). I had to cancel a trip to Animazement for the artist alley; but I was able to get a spot at Anime Expo instead. If you're going, I hope you'll come by! Unless you're also in AA, in which case you should say so D: I have some more things to upload; a few I may not put up until after the event.

I also have some cool news: I will be in the Plush You! show in Seattle in the fall. I've definitely never done a gallery show before so it's very exciting that I was selected.

And now I shall go crash, I'm giving myself a bit of a hard time weaning off my medication (it's best not to be on it, but like long, slow jetlag to get off). Most of my energy is spent trying to get work done, but I'll do my best not to get out of touch here!